1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vending apparatus. More specifically, the invention relates to vending apparatus in which dispensing of articles is intelligently controlled.
2. Related Art
Vending apparatus are known in the art. Generally, vending apparatus involve columns for storing products which may be selected by a customer for dispensation, usually after insertion of a given amount of "credit" in the form of coins or bills. These vending apparatus generally have mechanisms or circuitry designed to supplement the dispensation function.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,877 (Burton) discloses a malfunction lock-out circuit which allows isolation of a malfunctioning section of the vending apparatus. The isolation of a malfunctioning section of the vending apparatus allows articles in other columns in the vending apparatus to continue to be dispensed. As in many known vending apparatus, the control circuitry involves cams.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,147 (Levasseur) discloses an apparatus for controlling vending functions involving vend/pay-out control logic governed by a time period in which a product vend may be sensed. The vend/pay-out control logic may involve the use of a microprocessor, especially for use in the decision-making functions.
These patents are incorporated by reference as if reproduced in full below.
Known vending apparatus possess the limitation that, under certain circumstances, there is an undesirably long time delay between the time a selection is made by a customer and the time the product is delivered to him. In the field of vending machines, the perception of customers is very important. Therefore, any feature which a customer might consider to be undesirable, such as an unnecessary delay in the dispensation of an item, should be modified. Therefore, in the field of vending apparatus, it is desirable to provide a vending apparatus in which the time delay between a customer selection and the article dispensation is minimized.
In known systems, the delay between customer selection and article dispensation varies considerably, depending on which point in a multi-article vending cycle the dispensing mechanism is in, for a given column. More specifically, as can be seen in FIG. 4, arm 402, with first and second rods 404 and 406, rotate about an axis which runs through motor 206 and a center rod 408. A "quick-vend" cycle occurs when arm 402 rotates so as to allow first rod 404 to move downward, which allows first article 308 to fall down, no longer restrained by higher edge 304 of separator panel 302. Soon thereafter, a relatively small rotation of the motor 206 and first rod 404 allows second article 310 to fall down, no longer restrained by lower edge 306 of separator panel 302. The relatively small "quick-vend" cycle described immediately above, is in contrast to the comparatively long time duration between dispensation of second article 310 and third article 312. This longer time duration derives from the fact that, in known systems, arm 402 must traverse a greater angular path between dispensation of articles 310 and 312, then it did between articles 308 and 310.
Therefore, there is a need for a vending apparatus in which the time delay between an article's selection and its dispensation to the customer is reduced, regardless of the point in the dispensation cycle.
It is known in the art that, after a "sold-out" condition has been encountered for a particular column, there is a problem as to how to ensure that the articles which are distributed after the column has been refilled are of the proper temperature. When the articles are soda cans, it is desirable to have the soda cans be cooled to within a certain temperature range before they are dispensed. In known systems the problem has been solved by refusing to dispense the last two articles in a column, instead prematurely indicating a "sold-out" condition in that column. In this manner, after the column is reloaded with new articles, at least the first two articles will allegedly be at the desired temperature.
This known solution has several drawbacks. First, the immediate sale of the last two (or similar number) items is sacrificed, causing cumulative loss of revenue which may be substantial. Also, when new articles are loaded atop the two "old" articles (which are already at the desired temperature), the physical contact of the "old" articles with the new articles causes heat transfer to occur. This heat transfer diminishes the effectiveness of the method in providing articles which are the proper temperature.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a vending apparatus in which some characteristic of the articles, such as temperature, be controlled so that no articles need be vended until they are of the proper temperature, even after the vending apparatus has been reloaded.
It is also known that certain vending machines have the defect that a forward-to-backward rocking motion may allow an item to be released from a column improperly (one example of this potential danger is shown in the apparatus of FIG. 4, in which, after article 308 has been dispensed, a forward rocking motion of the motion may cause article 310 to fall forward, and be dispensed under higher edge 304). This manner of dispensation not only constitutes theft, but causes a "dry-vend" in which the next subsequent customer in many known systems receives no product, resulting in a loss of good will toward the vending apparatus manufacturer, and perhaps also to the article manufacturer.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a vending apparatus in which improper removal of articles is inhibited or deterred.